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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 14, 2009

Hilo team wins RBI softball World Series


Advertiser News Services

Lavinia Holschuh pitched a one-hitter and drove in two runs to lift Hilo to a 3-0 softball victory over Cleveland today to win the 17th Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Hilo finished 6-0 in the eight-team tournament for ages 19 and under at Lake Catherine Sports Complex.
Holschuh, a Kohala graduate who plays for Hawai‘i-Hilo, had perfect game through five innings .
Hilo coach James Hirayama said Holschuh added a second drop ball pitch, which made a difference in the championship game.
“It’s really extreme, and our catcher, Robyn (Santiago), has a hard time catching it.,” Hirayama said in a story at the tournament’s Web site. “The ball moves all over the place, and Lavinia got in control and just went from there. She’s a big reason why we made it here and today she is a big reason why we won.”
Holschuh was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
“I’m glad that I could come out and perform because I’ve had a bit of a hard time this tournament,” Holschuh said “It’s really nice to be able to come out and throw my drop ball.”
Kirsty Imai added a hit and scored two runs and Sloane Thomas also had a hit and scored a run for Hilo.
Hilo finished runner-up in this tournament last year.
“It's been a hard season this year and we put in a lot of hard work,” Holschuh said. “We’ve had some tough breaks, but it all came together for us.”
RBI has programs in more than 200 cities worldwide with more than 100,000 boys and girls playing baseball and softball. All of the teams’ expenses are funded by the RBI program, through Major League Baseball and KPMG.
A delayed broadcast of the championship game will be on the MLB Network at 5 a.m. on Aug. 23.

Information from mlb.com was used in this report.